Dreams in Darkness
by Demenior
Summary: Atlanta is enrolled in a topnotch school and has several great friends, but when one of those friends starts becomming too close, her life becomes filled with terror as everyone she loves is endangered. Someone is going to die before this year is over
1. Overture

Dreams in Darkness

Disclaimer: I don't own Class of the Titans. It is © to Studio B productions, Teletoon, and whomever else owns it. I am merely using the characters.

Pairings: Pan/Atlanta/Archie, Jay/Theresa, Herry/Talia, Odie/Calypso, Neil/Echo

Author's Note: This is an **Alternate Universe** fanfiction. This means that the whole 'Class of the Titans' cartoon did not happen. Character relationships and such will be explained later. See bottom for more details.

Dreams in Darkness

_Chapter one:___

_Overture_

Rain pattered against the ground. A raggedy teen only around the age of seventeen, sat in the light outside of an open-late store. He was dressed in the rags of once-tan pants and a long-sleeved shirt that was once white with purple sleeves. He had a blue hat on his head and red-brown dreadlocks falling over his shoulders. He harbored many scars from being hit and abused by his new stepfather. His mother always stood up for and claimed that her new husband would never do a thing like that. That was the reason he'd finally decided to run away.

He hated men. Men were evil and liked violence. He was a man, a boy, actually. But he hated violence. He hated the thrills every man loved. Maybe he was freak- should have been born a woman? Nevertheless, he had been borne a loathsome man. Women were nice; they were compassionate and sensitive, like him. He wanted to love someone and protect them, and he wanted that fiercely. That's why he had tried to keep that girl he had lived with, even though her parents had thought he was going to hurt her! Why would he hurt her when she had done nothing except been fed lies that not all men were bad. He was the only good man in the world.

Slowly rising, Phillip Andrew Night, or 'Pan' as he liked to be called on the street (it was an acronym of his initials) trudged into the night. He couldn't stay in one place very long or he'd probably fall asleep. Hearing a loud roar on the road, he inwardly picked up his pace, but knew that usually vehicles didn't stop for 'throw-out's like him. This one did.

"Hello, Phillip," came the viciously sweet, slurred with beer and whiskey voice that he hadn't heard for years - and shouldn't be hearing for many more years because his father was still supposed to be in jail!

"I-It's Pan now," he managed to reply.

"What kind of a name is 'Frying Pan', brat?" his father stepped off the motorcycle, putting a brass knuckle on his right hand.

Pan took a step back, "It's _my_ name!"

"You know what I'm gonna do to you, 'Pan'? I'm gonna _kill_ you, and make you _.scream_ for all the fines you've made me have to pay and all the years I'll have to spend in jail, 'specially when they catch me again."

Without warning Pan's father lunged forwards and tackled him to the ground, Pan cried out as his back hit the sidewalk hard. With savage punches his father began beating him senseless, Pan threw up his arms to try and protect his head but the blows only moved onto his body from there. Pan screamed in agony and tried to curl up, but then his father went to kicking him.

After only a minute or so of this torture, Cronus Night walked back to his motorcycle and came back with a length of rope. Grinning savagely, he tied the rope around Pan's neck while the boy moaned in confusion. He was just about to begin tightening and choking Pan when the boy suddenly grabbed the end of the rope he was holding onto and tackled him. Unsure of what was happening, Cronus tried to fight back but something inside his sons' mind had snapped and this feral intensity was all that was left. Cronus felt the rope around his neck, felt the need for air and tried to scream for help, but couldn't get out the words. He struggled against Pan as much as he could, but the lack of oxygen was affecting him too greatly.

Pan released the body a few minutes after it had stopped moving. Light came back into his eyes as he pulled away, falling to the ground and feeling the nose around his own neck. Panicking, he pulled it off and ended up scratching his neck and face as he did so. The boy was shaking, sore and barely conscious, but he knew he had to get away- as far away as he could. They'd find him and think he was 'wrong' and wouldn't understand at all! He couldn't go back to rehab, he was fine- it was the fact that he was a man that was all wrong!

Looking around, Pan took his fathers' wallet which had fallen from his pocket during the fight and got onto the motorcycle, driving away as fast as he could and trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall.

((((((00oo00))))))

Pan traveled for many, many days and finally ended up in a busy city. He'd bought some new clothes for himself, strangely they were pretty much exactly like his old clothes.

He had almost finished getting the contract to rent a condo, with an upstairs and a downstairs! Life actually seemed to be getting better for him. The cuts he had gotten during the fight were all almost completely healed, and right now, he was enjoying a random stroll through the city.

Unexpectedly, as he turned the corner, he hit someone else head-on. They both cried out in reaction, falling backwards, and Pan looked up to see the prettiest girl he had ever seen.

"S-sorry," he said after a moment, still admiring her long legs and tan skin.

"No problem, I should've been watching where I was going," she laughed.

He got up and offered her his hand, helping her up.

"I'm in a bit of a hurry to get to my track meet," she explained, "I'm going to school at NOHSTY and I'm their best runner," she gave him a playful wink and Pan felt his guts stir with butterflies.

"NOHSTY?" he asked after a moment.

"The New Olympia High School for Talented Youth, ever heard of it?" she cocked her head to the side like a dog and Pan wanted to fuss over her like she was a dog- she was so cute and beautiful! But he shook his head 'no'.

"Oh... well I do have to go, my name's Atlanta!" she smiled.

"Phi- Pan. My name is Pan," he said after a near mix-up.

"Pan? That's a rather unique name. I like it," she smiled again, brightening up the entire world.

"Uh, yeah, thanks," he wanted to kiss her so badly right now. To protect her from the dangerous world and other men who would surely take advantage of this beautiful girl.

"See you, Pan! I hope I meet you again!" she called as she ran off.

"I promise you, Atlanta, I'll never leave you," he whispered and continued walking down the street, now having a specific destination. 

((((((00oo00))))))

Archie tapped his foot impatiently while he waited for Atlanta to show up. She always did this- showing up at the last minute- and, like always, he was worried that she'd gotten hurt, or lost, or kidnapped or... a lot of other things. (not that he's ever tell he her was worried)

"Hey! Miss me?" Atlanta called as she zipped out of the crowd.

"Where have you been?" Archie cried, almost dropping the pen that was neatly tucked behind his ear.

"I ran into this boy on my way over. He was really nice and had a cool name... Pan, I think," she shrugged as she sat down to put her track shoes on.

"Oh, and I assume that Atlanta, who won't even turn her head for any man, was suddenly smitten by this 'Pan' boy?" Archie snorted, mentally praising himself for using some descriptive words in everyday speech.

"No, Shakespeare, I just had a quick chat with him," she playfully punched him in his left leg, considering the other was covered in an awkward, golden ankle-brace that was used to stabilize the thin bones and uneven mends or something like that, she didn't really care to pity and baby him because of his 'disability'.

Atlanta was a runner, plain and simple. She preferred sprinting, but could hold her own in long-distance running as well. Archie, probably her best friend at NOHSTY, could have easily got into the school for running, if it weren't for his heel. They liked to go running together a lot, even though many of the teachers frowned upon the thought of him over-straining his heel. Even so, Archie was a poet. He kept a little notebook in his hoodie pocket and a pen tucked behind his ear at all times in case of random inspiration. They'd met on their first day at NOHSTY, while getting their classes and something between them had connected. They were in the same core class, though their school didn't focus too much on 'normal classes' and then had other separate classes considering Atlanta was in athletics and Archie was in arts. 

"So, what can you tell me about my competition?" Atlanta looked up briefly from tying her shoe.

Archie smirked and pulled out his notebook, flipping it open to the page of the little notes he'd written on the other girls.

"Let's see... for one, the only girl who you should really worry about is that blonde one over there," he pointed in a general direction to a blonde girl doing stretches in the shade of a big maple tree, "she's the only one who keeps a consistent fast time. The others drop and gain depending on such. But that... that brunette over there," Archie directed her gaze to a dark-skinned girl with long black hair tied in a ponytail, "she seems to keep getting better, but she's also a bit of a cheat. If you start to get ahead of her she might try to trip you."

Atlanta nodded, "So just get far enough ahead of them that they can't trip or get ahead of me?"

Archie shrugged, "Pretty much. Though it'd be pretty cool if you win."

Atlanta got up and gave him a playful punch in the shoulder. She had a few trophies under her belt for races, and she had a good feeling about today's track meet. 

"Well, I'll see you after the race," she leaned in closer and whispered, "though I really wish I could race you."

"You wouldn't stand a chance, but it'd be fun," Archie gave her a friendly clap on the shoulder.

"I'll win this one for you, Archie," she laughed, jogging away before he could think of something smart to say. He shrugged and went to find a place near the finish line to watch from.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Pan took in a deep breath of the fragrant flowers in the shop. He looked around before settling on a red rose. He plucked it from the bundle of roses and made sure it was the most beautiful of the bunch with the least amount of blemishes. He looked around quickly, everyone was busy and no one in the shop was paying attention to him, and walked out of the store and onto the street. Smiling, he tied a black ribbon he'd found in his pocket around the rose, making it seem just that more beautiful. He hoped Atlanta would like it.

He picked up his feet and jogged in the direction Atlanta had gone in. It didn't take too long to find a huge, modern Greek temple. The pillars all looked startling white and the paint job was flawless. The stairs leading up to the oak doors were un-cracked stone and the plant life was healthy green and neatly organized. A large sign in front told the name of the school: New Olympia High School for Talented Youth. He could hear cheers and shouts from behind the building.

In the back, there was a colossal field, with hundreds of people gathered on it. Bleachers had been set up and they were packed to the brim with grinning bodies, while the rest swarmed around the red track. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Atlanta's fiery red hair at the starting line. With a wide smile, he forced his way through the sea of people, and heard the shot that began the race as he did so.

If the sounds before hadn't deafened him, the cheers that arouse now surely did. Pan, careful not to crush the rose against anyone, covered his ears and grimaced in pain. He continued pushing his way through, coming out as the cheering grew to a final roar so loud the earth seemed to shake. The runners had come to the finish line, and someone had one. From the looks of it, his heart soared, Atlanta had won!

He moved to congratulate her and give her the rose, but then a boy he hadn't taken any attention for ran up to his Atlanta. With a spring in her step that only spoke of victory, she jumped forwards and threw her arms around that boy's neck, the both of them laughing. The crowd grew silent as he watched Atlanta be so friendly to this... this boy! He looked nothing short of a punching bag for any man, scrawny and dressed in repulsive clothing with bright violet hair and pale skin. There was a large _thing_ on his leg that Pan could not fathom the purpose for.

"You did it. 'Lan!" the boy cried, hugging her. Pan felt even more distraught when he saw the shade of pink flush in the boy's cheeks. 

"I won for both of us, Archie," she smiled back at him; the flush from the boy's face seemed to have spread to hers. The two looked at each other, and not just a glance, but truly, deeply looking into each other so long Pan was sure they would kiss. But then a judge came up to them and broke their moment, Pan was grateful because he was sure he would have died if they had kissed.

He was shaking so badly he wondered if his teeth would be rattled out. Suddenly his feet seemed impossibly heavy and he was rooted to the spot. Agony clutched his breast while his heart twisted and shattered, watching this Archie with his Atlanta. Where had this Archie come from- there was only Pan and Atlanta in this story. Archie was a problem that could quickly be taken care of.

His fists had clenched so tightly that Pan didn't notice he had completely destroyed the rose he had taken such good care of until now.

"I'll get her back. She will be mine," he whispered through suppressed sobs.

Then Phillip Andrew Night, Pan, turned and disappeared into the crowd.

_End of Overture_

So guys, how does it sound so far? It's very heavily inspired/influenced by the 'Phantom of the Opera' movie, because sadly I haven't seen the actual live opera yet, but I hope you can pick out whom some of these characters are 'playing' form the movie.

Now, I know that 'New Olympia High School for Talented Youth' is quite a mouthful, but NOHSTY is fun to say. You pronounce it No-Stee. Stee, as in 'Steve' without the 've' at the end. We'll go into a bit more detail on the school soon enough.

For all of you who read this before Ficwad did a dive-bomb and flipped heads-over-heels, this is the same story with nothing but a few spelling corrections. No new chapters yet, just the same two I had up before.

Thank you for reading!

Demenior


	2. Act 1

Dreams in Darkness

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Pairings: See Chapter 1

Author's Note: Thanks for the awesome feedback on the first chapter guys. Looks like my big ideas aren't as confusing as I thought they were going to be, and as promised, here's the update.

Dreams in Darkness

_Chapter Two:_

_Act I _

The New Olympia High School for Talented Youth was world-renowned for it's specialization in the three 'A's.

Academics, Art's, and Athletics'. It was a boarding school, with a waiting list big enough to smother the earth. The teacher's there were the best you could find anywhere, and the students were about as normal as anyone else. What was surprising about the school was its lack of social standards. Mostly everyone was on good terms with one another, and after a year of going to school together, working together, cheering each other on and such, there was something like a bubble created around the building where no one was out to look cool or better. Academic's hung out with Art's or Athlete's whenever and vice versa.

One such couple was the pair at the track this sunny, warm morning. It was before school hours still; considering their school started later than most and ended later because of all the after school/night events and activities the students were active in.

This pair, though not uncommon, was definitely one of a kind. The girl had vivid red hair, and while running, was a streak of red, tan skin, and a jogging outfit consisting of a blue shirt and grey pants. She sped across the finish line, continuing her laps, while the boy sitting to the side of the finish line clicked a stopwatch and quickly scribbled in the numbers in his notebook while he frantically wrote away at something else holding his complete concentration.

He had bright purple hair and normally wore blue shorts and matching hoodie. On his feet were sandals and his right shin/heel was covered by a golden brace that supported his heel which was unnaturally weak.

"Done!" Atlanta flew across the finish line, and then threw herself down beside Archie.

He scribbled in a few more numbers, nodding a good job to her, but continued writing.

"Can't believe you left your big writing assignment to today!" Atlanta sighed, propping herself up on her elbows, "how'd I do anyways?"

She peered across him to the number scribbled in the margin, but they really made no sense to her at all.

"Your first lap was nice, then you decided to trot the second, and after than you slowed down more before you stumbled across the finish line," Archie replied without looking up. While he said she was slowing down, no one else probably would have known because she'd kept at near-blur speed the whole time. Only because he knew her so well, and because he was exaggerating a little, did Archie know that she had really slowed down. Atlanta sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"So… how's it going Shakespeare?" she mumbled.

"You smell terrible," Archie shrugged her off with a playful smile.

She gave him a friendly punch in the arm before getting up and going to her bag for her water bottle.

The fields behind the school were huge, almost a park in their own right. Mostly there were numerous tracks of different sizes, but also enough room for other students to be able to come out and enjoy the outdoors. Mainly the Art's students, like Archie, would come out and sit in the grove of trees, dubbed 'The Forest' or in the gentle hills than happened to be on the property.

Atlanta was leaning against the bleachers, waiting for Archie, when he finally jumped up with a cheer.

"Finished!" he declared proudly, sticking his notebook back into his hoodie pocket and once again tucked the pencil behind his ear. He hardly went anywhere without it, and Atlanta secretly wondered if his ear had been shaped to fit the pencil.

"Finally," Atlanta rolled her eyes, "now I need to go have a shower and change clothes before school. Can you give me a ride?"

Archie nodded, "Sure, we've got time."

The two of them took a light job back to Archie's blue Oldsmobile, smiling and waving briefly as a friendly weightlifter/wrestler and his gothic-vampire girlfriend gave them a greeting.

Atlanta's apartment was in a different complex than Archie's, even so it was his second home. About half the things in Atlanta's home were probably his, and half of the things at his own apartment were most likely hers.

Atlanta's special seat, practically hers, was the passenger's seat. It was where she always sat, no matter what. As Archie got in he felt a twinge of pain in his heel and grimaced slightly. Atlanta noticed this.

"You okay? Should I drive now-"

"I'm fine!" Archie snapped and got into the car. He hated it when people pitied him because of his 'disability', Atlanta especially. She sighed and sank into her seat, staring ahead. The only reason Atlanta didn't drive was because she didn't have a car. Both sixteen, the two of them had taken their drivers exams together and were now driving free only a few months later.

After a few minutes the tension had worn off and Atlanta turned on the radio, laughing at how outdated and old Archie's car was, and then they two of them eventually ended up singing, completely off-key, together.

By the time they pulled into the parking lot for the building Atlanta's apartment was in; they were both laughing and teasing each other again. Atlanta raced Archie to her room, and won again, but only because his heel was bugging him. She called him a big-fat-fibber, gave him a light shove, and then pulled the spare key out from the flowerpot she had outside and unlocked the door. Archie made himself comfortable in her kitchen (and very easily became acquainted with the cupboards and refrigerator) while Atlanta grabbed some spare clothes from her room and went to have a shower.

Nearly half an hour later, Atlanta came out with a towel around her shoulders and was dressed in her favorite green-blue shirt with green-brown pants and high socks. Archie rolled his eyes.

"Don't you ever have anything else to wear?"

"What about you same-hoodie-for-two-years?" she teased back.

Archie looked down at his shirt, "This is brand new, from this year! It only happens to look like my old one by mere coincidence."

Atlanta laughed and sat down at the table with him. She took a slice of his leftover pizza and started eating it heartedly while she dried her hair with the other hand. Archie watched her for only a moment before commenting,

"You're terrible at drying your hair."

Atlanta stopped to look at him, placing her pizza on the table, "Oh, and I suppose you're suddenly the expert? Weirdo."

"No, seriously, the way you go at it you'll be half-bald in a matter of months and frizzy beyond belief," he retorted.

She raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "Archie, yet again you've just given me reason to believe you don't quite swing in the same direction as most teenage bo-"

Archie didn't give her a chance to finish, and he reached forwards and rubbed the towel in her face so hard it nearly tipped her over backwards. Atlanta burst out laughing and swatted at his hands before he finally pulled away. She ripped the towel off her head, bundled it up, and threw it at him.

"You jerk!" she laughed.

Archie leaned back in his chair, satisfied, "Well I'd say I just won that round."

"In your dreams," Atlanta leaned back as well, glaring at him.

"Well, we'd better be off," Archie stood up, clapping his hands on his knees as he did so, "don't want to be late, eh?"

"I need to go gel my hair," Atlanta replied, getting up to go to the bathroom.

"I suggest you hurry, because if you're not out there when I'm ready to go, you'll have to run all the way," Archie winked as he grabbed her pizza off the table and ran out the door. Open mouthed, Atlanta stood still for a moment, staring at the door, before kicking the table.

"Stupid Archie!" she screamed before grabbing her gel and racing out the door after him.

((((((00oo00))))))

They arrived with plenty of time remaining. People now crowded the halls, chatting excitedly and grabbing books from their lockers before running off to join friends or get an early start on a class.

Archie and Atlanta pushed their way through the crowds, going to Archie's locker first. He grabbed a binder that had numerous loose papers sticking out of it, as well as random doodles he and Atlanta had done in the few classes they had together.

They made their way over to Atlanta's locker, having brief conversations and comments with others as they passed. Atlanta was pulled some binders and textbooks from her locker, they were almost as messy as Archie's, and was shutting her locker when a very popular gymnast stepped up beside her.

Theresa Anne Starling was one of the most well-loved girls in the school. Everyone seemed to know her name and she seemed to know everyone. She'd been Atlanta's school-buddy last year, and had shown Atlanta around the school and kept her form getting utterly confused and lost. Since then, the two of them had remained close, but not close enough to be called real friends, more like acquaintances.

"Atlanta," Theresa grinned, "have you met the new kid? He's an amazing musician!"

Atlanta shook her head, "Isn't it a little late to be transferring here? I mean, it's the middle of the school year."

Theresa laughed, "Who cares? He's got good talent, speaks well, flirts well, and is definite eye candy. If I wasn't crushing on Heartmen, I might go for him."

Jayson Leroy Heartmen, preferably called Jay, was a great comic artist who was Theresa's best friend for a long time now. Theresa really liked him, and he really liked her, yet the two of them were hardly going out. More just having their cute moments every so often.

Atlanta rolled her eyes, "Oh boy, if he's pulled you away from Jay, then he must be half-decent."

"Or maybe just always pruny from being in the water too long," Archie cut in. Atlanta burst out laughing, because it was very true about Jay.

Jay probably lived in the water more than he did on land. He'd grown up on a houseboat, knew how to work almost any type of boat, built rafts with ease, and was the fastest swimmer you'd ever see. He was captain of the school's swim team and his main comic he was designing had mostly to do with water and watercraft and water species. His nickname was sometime's 'Aqualad' but after a year of being taunted and good-humouredly teased, it seemed to have died down.

Theresa sent Archie a mild glare, the two of them hardly knew each other and only did so through Atlanta. Truth was, while Theresa was famous around the school, Archie was infamous. They were complete opposites and could hardly stand each other. Neither of them knew what Atlanta saw in the other.

"Anyways, I just wanted to give you a heads up," Theresa smiled at Atlanta before going back into the crowd.

Atlanta rolled her eyes as she turned to face Archie, "She thinks I need help with my love life. But we might as well meet this guy."

Archie followed after her, "My guess is that he's actually a new fish in the aquarium in her homeroom."

Atlanta bit back a giggle as she turned down another crowded hall. While she pushed her way through, she heard someone shout her name and almost immediately her hand was grabbed from behind. Wondering why Archie was being all weird this morning, she turned to face him but instead looked in a pair of dark, ebony eyes. Her eyes widened in disbelief- this was the new student!

"Atlanta," he said again, smiling.

"Pan?"

_End of Act I _

Dun dun dun. So now Pan is in NOHSTY? We finally meet Theresa, get introduced to Jay, and if you were paying close attention you'll see that we've now seen Herry and Talia. Cool, eh?

So yeah… Jay's a comic artist. And captain of the swim team. Go figure.

Anyways, I'll try and get some more up soon. And as some selfless self-promotion, check out my other stories 'A Christmas Mission' as it has just been updated again (chapter 9) and my latest story 'Heroes Crusade: End of All Hope' as I need some outside feedback. Thank you again for reading!

Demenior


End file.
